The Packers were headed to San Francisco for the divisional round next week the moment the Vikings revealed shortly before kickoff that Joe Webb – who hadn’t thrown a pass all season – would start in place of the injured Christian Ponder.

It didn’t take more than one or two groundballs thrown by the overmatched Webb to make this Green Bay victory a forgone conclusion, and the Packers followed through with a 24-10 decision at Lambeau Field that lacked any drama whatsoever after the first quarter.

Not even the superhuman Adrian Peterson could be expected to beat Green Bay singlehandedly, but that became Peterson’s task when the Vikings decided in pregame warmups that Ponder’s elbow bursitis wouldn’t enable him to play.

Like the Vikings, Peterson had no chance. With Webb barely a threat to complete a pass (he finished 11-for-30 for 180 yards), Peterson was predictably swarmed and finished with a harmless 99 yards on 22 carries a week after torching Green Bay for 199 yards in a Week 17 home win.

While Peterson was getting buried, Aaron Rodgers was doing one of the many things he does so very well – burying the Vikings’ defense.

The Packers’ MVP quarterback didn’t post huge numbers, but then again, Rodgers didn’t have to with Webb serving as a constant punchline on the other side. Rodgers completed 23 of his 33 passes for 274 yards and a TD with no interceptions, barely breaking a sweat in the process.

That was to be expected against Minnesota from Rodgers, who now has thrown 25 TDs against just four interceptions in 11 career games versus the Packers’ NFC North rivals.

Despite Peterson’s woes, the game did have one extremely productive back – Green Bay fullback John Kuhn.

Touching the ball just five times, Kuhn became the first player in the Packers’ storied history with a rushing and receiving TD in two playoff games after notching scores on a three-yard run and a nine-yard catch last night.

Kuhn was certainly more dangerous than the Vikings could hope to be with Webb under center.

Ponder might have been one of the NFL’s most inconsistent and unreliable quarterbacks during the regular season, but he was Joe Montana compared to his backup.

Webb gave the Vikings trouble on the game’s opening possession, expertly running a run-dominated read option offense that the Packers hadn’t prepared for to a 3-0 lead.

But Minnesota, puzzlingly, went away from that scheme soon thereafter, and Webb – the first player in NFL history to start a playoff game after not throwing a single pass during the regular season – was so inept that he had Vikings fans longing for the days of Tarvaris Jackson.

Two throws in the first quarter were lobbed almost straight into the air to no visible receiver, and Webb went into halftime with Vikings down 17-3 having suffered almost as many sacks (two) as he had completed passes (three).

Webb threw a 50-yard TD pass to a wide-open Michael Jenkins with just over three minutes left, but you could almost excuse the Packers’ defense – up three scores on a frigid night — for falling asleep by then.

As a result, Rodgers and the Packers were able to make good on their quarterback’s postgame vow last week that this week “will be a different-type game.”

That certainly was the case, especially for a Green Bay defense that had been embarrassed by Peterson in their two regular-season matchups. Peterson had rushed for a whopping 409 yards in those games, but the Packers kept him under control when it mattered last night.